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Forming Character in Adolescents

Will your children’s Catholic faith -- and morals -- survive adolescence? How to steer them safely through their teen years.

To his colleagues, Catholic University psychologist Dr. Rudolf Allers was best known for his scholarly attacks on Freudianism. But Catholic laymen of the 1940s and ‘50s knew him mostly through popular works like this one: an ingenious guide to help parents steer their children safely through the temptations and turbulence of adolescence.

Dr. Allers rejects the Freud-inspired myth that adolescent unhappiness is inevitable, and almost wholly due to sex. In jargon-free chapters, he explains:

the general principles of adolescent development

how best to understand, approach and influence teenagers

features unique to adolescents

daydreams and sexuality

vocational guidance

Throughout, Dr. Allers offers sound, practical advice for solving -- or preventing -- the problems that can trouble even the best-raised teens. A sampling of topics:

“Dr. Allers has again placed in his debt those engaged in the responsible task of training the young. Teachers, priests, and parents will derive a good deal of inspiration and of practical help from this book. . . . The whole treatment is characterized by saneness and simplicity. It can be understood by anyone.” —Catholic School Journal